Co-creating a Research Guidance

GLOBAL COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS

Now, more than ever, new innovative solutions are required to allow all people access to quality health care. An abundance of existing solutions have been developed and implemented by people and organisations in different contexts and environments. Many of these have had a significant impact on the lives of local communities. We are united by a passion to transform health care delivery in the Global South through social innovation.

WHY SOCIAL INNOVATION IN HEALTH

For the purposes of this Initiative, we define social innovation as: A solution (process, product, practice, market mechanism) implemented through diverse organisational models. The solution has been developed by a range of actors in response to a systemic health challenge within a geographic context. It profoundly challenges the current system status quo and has enabled healthcare to be more inclusive, effective and affordable.

Social innovation uses a people-centred perspective. It is based on valuing communities and individuals living across the global south to be competent interpreters of their lives and essential contributors in solving the challenges to access quality health services.

The social innovation approach extends beyond silos, sectors and disciplines to inclusively integrate all actors around the needs of communities.

Social innovation results in the implementation of new solutions that enable greater equity, affordability and sustainability of health care services for all.

SOCIAL INNOVATION IN HEALTH INITIATIVE

The Social Innovation in Health Initiative is a network of passionate individuals and institutions combining their skills and resources in support of key activities to promote social innovation in health. Their united effort provides leadership to advance social innovation in health in developing countries, with the ultimate goals to achieve the SDGs and improve the lives of communities in the south.

Launched in 2014, SIHI is spearheaded by TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, hosted at the World Health Organization. In 2017, SIHI’s implementing partners include the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the University of the Philippines, the University of Malawi, Makerere University, Uganda, the University of Cape Town and the Pan American Health Organization.

PROMOTE AND SUPPORT SOCIAL INNOVATION RESEARCH: Conduct research on community-based social innovation models and develop tools/ mechanisms to strengthen research.

STRENGTHEN COUNTRY CAPACITY: Partner with research institutions in low and middle income countries to advance social innovation capacity.

EXERT GLOBAL INFLUENCE:Share best-practice learning and engage strategic influencers to further the adoption and scale of social innovation.

PREVIOUS SIHI ACTIVITIES

Over the past 2 years we have been active in demonstrating the value of community-based social innovation in health, raising global awareness and promoting research through:

A global south social innovation in health identification process

Field visits to 25 social innovation programmes across 17 countries

In-depth case study research on 23 best-practice social innovations in health

A global convening of actors resulting in a WHO call for social innovation in research

THE CASE STUDIES

Following a call in 2015 for nominations of existing social innovations that address health care delivery challenges for infectious diseases of poverty, 25 projects were visited and 23 selected for in-depth research. These innovations are implemented across 15 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Our team crossed the globe to visit each of the remarkable creators and implementers of these solutions. To learn about their health care delivery models. To discover their innovative components. And to distil lessons of relevance and translation across health systems.